Beauty is in the eye of the voter

Last month social networking website BeautifulPeople.com was attacked by a computer virus allowing members to join that ordinarily wouldn’t have made the cut.

First of all yes, it’s true, there is a website called BeautifulPeople.com and yes, people are graded on their looks to permit entry to the network.

Privileged

Members of the site pay for the privilege to post their photographs alongside information about their weight and height, describing their “body type” as well as whether they own a car or home along with their zodiac sign.

Feeling a bit left out because you didn’t know about it in the first place, by any chance?

Well, wait for it. People who were “no oil painting” were able to get in because the grading tool was attacked. The same site also rejected 5,000 existing users after they apparently gained some Christmas weight last year.

Who decides?

So interestingly, despite it being a voting system it must be the owners who really decide what beauty is.

It’s a funny old world we’re living in right now. We all know, or tell ourselves, that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? But when your mates put up photos of themselves on Facebook so all their mates can comment on how they look, no one’s talking about their dazzling personalities.

Media messages

Popular magazines document celebrity dramatic unhealthy weight loss alongside delivering us quick fix fad diets for the “perfect beach bod” with no sense of irony. No longer just reserved for women, men too are now told frequently how to get “killer abs”.

We’re all about the image, more than ever it would seem. But at the same time there is a new wave of very courageous people in the public eye. Recently, a few sports stars and musicians have been very open about their experiences with depression.

Having it all

On the outside they would seem to have it all, leading perfect lives: success, good lucks, talent and money. But it would seem that you still cannot judge what’s going on on the inside just by looking at someone.

Which is why we all need a dig-out at some stage. No one is perfect. Even though we know this, we need to be reminded every now and then, which can help you to ask for that dig-out when you need it.

So if people want to put themselves up for the scrutiny of something like BeautifulPeople.com, being judged by a photo and measurements, let them on with it. None of us are perfect, no matter who decides. Just think of Groucho Marx’s quote “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member”.